Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Necromancers

Still working on spell lists. Holy fuck, spell lists.
I'm using a flexible MP system instead of spell slots (1 MP = 1st level spell). And also, nearly all spells are first level spells that can be promoted into more powerful forms by spending more MP on them (equivalent to preparing them in a higher level spell slot). A fuller discussion is here.

Here's the Necromancer. They can raise undead minions, which is flipping sweet, but when they use a spell to raise one, the MP (spell slot) remains expended for as long as the undead is a minion of the necromancer.

SCHOOL OF
NECROMANCY

Masters of
undead minions. All three basic types of minions are flawed:
Skeletons cannot recover lost HP in any way, zombies can be healed
but their maximum HP erodes by 1 HP every day, and skin kites have a
cumulative 1% chance of going berserk every day. The two kinds of
advanced minions are better, but still have drawbacks. Poppets
require your blood, while the crack zombies eat themselves to death in just a few rounds.

Perks

+4 to Save
vs Level Drain.

Unlike
other wizards, you can control the undead minions that you raise.
However, the MP that you spent on that spell will never be
regenerated as long as you control the minion (it stays expended).
Commands that you can give mindless undead are limited to a single
verb, optionally accompanied by pointing at something.

Drawbacks

The hatred
and fear of paladins and peasants everywhere.

When you
die or get knocked unconscious, you lose control of your undead
minions, who will then behave erratically. Roll a d3: 1 – Return
to your body and guard it against everyone, even your allies, 2 –
Wander off in different directions, 3 – Attack everything, and
when there is nothing left to attack, devour your body.

Most
hirelings will refuse to work for you.

spells 1-10 are ones you potentially start with, 11-30 are the ones you find on your journeys.

Spell
List

Charm
Undead

Detect
Undeath

Fear

Gentle
Repose

Invisible
Servant

Raise
Skeleton

Raise
Skin Kite

Raise
Zombie

Rot

Speak
With Dead

Blindness

Blood
Elixir

Blood
Funnel

Call
to Restless Spirit

Curse
of Undeath

Essential
Salts

Explode
Undead

Exterminate

False
Death

False
Life

Gaseous
Putrefaction

Graft
Undead

Gnashing
Shadows

Kill

Possess
Undead Minion

Raise
Poppet

Raise
Twitcher

Ruin
(Frailty)

See
Invisible

Wrack
(pain)

And here's a selection of the more interesting spells:

Blood
Elixir 1 Mana

R: touch T:
corpse D: permanent

This spell
takes 1 minute to cast, must begin within 1 round of the corpse's
death, and requires reagents costing 100s (usually bat's blood,
colloidal silver, and a Small vial). The brief ritual produces a
blood-red elixir imbued with the knowledge of a random spell that was
in the corpse's mind at the time of his death. If drunk, the spell
is transferred to the drinker's brain, who is then free to either
cast it or add it to their spellbook. Obviously, this spell has no
effect on corpses who didn't have any spells Prepared at the moment
of their death.

Call to
Restless Spirit 1 Mana

R: dungeon
T: - D: 0

You call out
to restless ghosts. The call goes out throughout the entire dungeon,
building, graveyard, battlefield, or whatever. If there are any
aggressive ghosts or incorporeal undead anywhere in the dungeon, the
nearest one will answer your call.

If there are
no aggressive spirits, the nearest restless one will appear.
Restless spirits usually want someone to deliver a message to a loved
one, or to bury their corpse in a proper graveyard. If it is
placated, usually by bundling up a mouldering skeleton in someone's
Inventory, it will answer 1d6 questions about the place. (If there
is a corpse of an adventurer in the dungeon, you have at least one
restless corpse. But a particular dungeon may have more, or it may
have none.)

Detect
Undeath 1 Mana

R: - T:
- D: constant

When you
have this spell Prepared, you can activate it to determine if
something is alive, undead or neither. 50' range.

Essential
Salts 1 Mana

R: touch T:
corpse D: permanent

This spell
takes 1 minute to cast, must begin within 1 round of the corpse's
death, and requires reagents costing 100s (usually ash from holy
books, black salt, and a Small jar). The brief ritual produces a
heart-sized pile of crystallized ashes, which contain the soul of the
recently deceased.

Reversed:
Call to Captured Spirit – This is a 1 hour ritual that
requires only a fire. The soul contained in the salt is called
forth, and can be conversed with freely while it is manifested within
the smoke. Each spirit has a characteristic type of smoke, and they
vary by color, density, odor, etc.

You have no
special power over the spirit. All you can do is talk to it,
although it the spell prevents it from leaving or from ignoring
you—it must respond to your questions with something.
Spirits that opposed you in life will continue to oppose you. If
there is nothing that the spirit cares about anymore, it will be
difficult to motivate. Some spirits are naturally helpful, some are
perpetually stubborn. (When in doubt, roll a reaction roll.)

You can
converse with the spirit for up to an hour, unless you wish to
dismiss it earlier. The salts can be recovered from the ashes of the
fire with a simple process. However, if the salts are scattered, or
if a single drop of holy water touches them, the spirit will depart
forever.

Explode
Undead 1 Mana

R: 50' T:
undead D: 0

If the
target corporeal undead fails a Save, it explodes, dealing 1d6 damage
to everything within 20', Save for half. No effect on incorporeal
undead. No effect on undead with greater than 4 HD. +1 MP: +2d6
explosion damage, and +2 maximum HD.

Exterminate 1
Mana

R: 50' T:
20' diameter D: 0

Everything
in the area take 1 damage, no Save. Swarms in the area instead take
2d6 damage, Save for half. Alternatively, this spell can be cast
over 1 minute, which will allow it to kill all vermin in a house,
including rats and fleas. +1 MP: +3d6 damage to swarms.

False
Death 1 Mana

R: 0 T:
creature D: 1 day

Willing
creature dies. While dead, it does not rot (see gentle repose)
but has no similar protection against being dismembered, eaten, or
buried. When the duration has elapsed, the creature returns to life
in exactly the same condition that it left it. You can set the spell
to have a shorter duration if you wish. +1 MP: Duration extends to 1
month.

False
Life 1 Mana

R: 0 T:
creature D: 1 minute

Target
creature gains 1d10 HP, which does not allow it to exceed it's
maximum HP. Record this number. When this spell ends, the creature
takes damage equal to the HP it gained.

This spell
can even be used to (imperfectly) resurrect creatures that died
within the last round with 2d6 HP. Creatures that are resurrected
this way die permanently at the end of the spell's duration. The
spell ends early if the creature notices that it is dead (no
heartbeat, slashed jugular). +1 MP: +2d10 HP.

Kill 1
Mana

R: touch T:
creature D: 0

Make a touch
attack and then roll 1d10. If the amount rolled is greater than or
equal to the targets remaining HP, the target dies, no Save.
Otherwise, this spell has no effect. +1 MP: +2d10 rolled.

Ruin 1
Mana

R: 50' T:
creature D: 1 min

If the
target fails its Save, all damage it takes is increased by 2. +1 MP:
+2 damage.

Rot 1
Mana

R: 50' T:
object/creature D: 0

Target takes
1d6 damage as part of it darkens and rots. No Save. Can be used to
rot out a center section of a wooden door wide enough for passage, or
rot the shaft of a wood-hafted weapon. Doesn't work on anything
immune to rotting. (So a zombie would be affected, but not a mummy
full of preservatives.)

And because I figure that the biggest appeal of being a necromancer is bossing around zombies, there are five different kinds of undead you can raise, and a few interesting spells that you can use on them:

You guys get how it works, right? A 1 HD zombie costs 1 MP (a 1st level spell slot) for as long as it around. A 3 HD zombie costs 2 MP (a 2nd level slot). And of course, you need to get those corpses in the first place. All the undead (except the poppet) have some sort of planned obsolescence baked into them, so you can't keep them around a long time (or you won't want to).

Raise _____
R: touch T: corpse D: permanent
Spells that raise undead have a lot in common. Exceptions will be noted under the individual spell.

The spell takes 1 minute to cast. It creates a 1 HD undead, unless the corpse came from a creature with fewer HD. The spell requires reagents costing 10s per HD, usually in the form of black peridots and silvered coffin nails. Any wizard can raise undead, but only Necromancers can control them (pXX). Undead have attack bonuses equal to their HD. None of the undead listed below are capable of speaking. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise
Autophage 1 Mana

R: 50'

Autophages
look like zombies on crack. They twitch so violently and move with
so little coordination that they literally tear themselves apart.
Theya are constantly eating themselves and fidgeting. An autophage
uses d12s for HD, has AC 10, Movement 12, and does 1d4+HD damage. It
takes damage each round equal to its HD, and is incapable of standing
still or being quiet. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise
Poppet 1 Mana

T: parts from 10 corpses

A poppet is not created from 1 corpse, but from the leftovers of at least 10 corpses whose HD is irrelevant. (Any fewer will result in an insane poppet.) It's appearance depends on the exact parts that went into its
construction. Poppets are the only undead that show signs
of emotion. They watch you while you sleep. A poppet
uses d4s for HD, has AC 12, Movement 10, Stealth 10, and does 1d4+HD
damage. It also does +3 damage when it attacks an unsuspecting
target. Each day, a poppet must be fed 1 HP of your blood for every
HD it possesses, or else it crumbles away into powder. +1 MP: +2 HD.

Raise
Skeleton 1 Mana

A skeleton
has AC 14, Movement 9, and does 1d4+HD damage. They can wield a
weapon, if given one. There is no way to restore HP to a Skeleton
once it has been lost. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise
Skin Kite 1 Mana

A skin kite uses d4s for HD, has AC 12, Fly 12, and attaches to a target on a successful attack. While attached, it automatically deals 1d4+HD damage per turn. Although they lack sentience and emotions, skin kites are about as smart as a well-trained dog, and are capable of remembering locations, people, and names. Each day, a skin kite has a cumulative 1% chance of going berserk, usually at the worst
possible time. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

Raise
Zombie 1 Mana

A zombie
uses d12s for HD, has AC 10, Movement 6, and does 1d4+HD damage.
They get -2 to hit, but if the attack roll succeeds by 4 or more,
they grab their opponent. Each day, a zombie decays, causing its
maximum HP to decrease by 1. +1 MP: +2 maximum HD.

1 comment:

I gotta add some of this (skins, bombs) to my Retro Phaze project, which uses a crpg's death magic among others. I'm being lazy and making a greater mana expenditure improve minion reanimation time, like adding coin to a parking meter.